All 76ers

Joel Embiid’s Official Playing Status for 76ers-Kings

Will Joel Embiid face the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday?

Justin Grasso

Dec 30, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during warm ups before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during warm ups before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
In this story:

Searching for a fifth-straight win, the Philadelphia 76ers anticipate being shorthanded against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. They made an early call on the playing status of the veteran center, Joel Embiid.

According to the official NBA injury report, Embiid has been ruled out. The reason for his absence is a left foot sprain.

While Embiid has missed a lot of action since the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season, Wednesday’s game is his first absence since the December 21 matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

At the beginning of the year, the Sixers rolled without Embiid for the first nine games of action. While he debuted for the team’s tenth game against the New York Knicks, Embiid sat out the second night of the back-to-back set.

Embiid would return to the court one game later. He appeared in three straight games before a setback sidelined him for another seven-game stretch of absences.

Since the start of December, Embiid missed five of the team’s 12 games. Lately, he’s found some consistency, appearing in seven of the last nine games.

During that stretch, Embiid averaged 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while posting 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from three.

Throughout the year, Embiid has battled through multiple setbacks. His knee was the primary concern at first after he received surgery on it last season. Then, Embiid suffered a sinus fracture, which forced him to miss a game and sport a mask for the last five outings.

Recently, Embiid sprained his foot during pregame warmups against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day. He hasn’t missed any time due to the lower-body setback.

On Wednesday, Embiid will get the night off. Considering it’s the start of a back-to-back set, Embiid has a strong chance of returning to the lineup on Thursday to face the Golden State Warriors.

The Sixers and the Kings will battle it out at 10 PM ET.

Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

Home/News